A housing activist has claimed that unequal distribution of advance polls "likely affected" the election results for Vancouver city council and the board of education.

Rider Cooey pointed out that there were five advance polls west of Main Street and only two advance polls east of Main Street, which were open from November 4 to 12. An eighth poll was on Main Street at the Sunset Community Centre, serving residents on the east and west side of the city.

"I have not focused on doing something to somehow rescue or alter this vote because I think it would be a longshot, in any case, and it involves more research than I've done," Cooey told the Straight by phone.

Cooey said that he's flagging these issues now to ensure that there is more equality in the distribution of advance polls in the 2018 election.

He made his comments shortly before council was set to hear the public's response to a motion from NPA councillor George Affleck asking staff to report back on complaints from voters in the 2014 election.

In addition to concerns about advance polls, there have been media reports of polling stations running out of ballots on Election Day and voters on Musqueam land not being registered until shortly before the election.

On November 15, the city extended voting hours at four of the 120 polls: Killarney Community Centre, Britannia Community Centre, Oakridge Centre, and Hastings elementary school.

Affleck also wants staff to examine if any voter fraud resulted from the city allowing voters to cast ballots without furnishing identification at any polling station. In past elections, voters were sent to specific locations. He has also expressed concern about long lineups without any seating spaces for seniors.

In October, 55 community organizations signed a letter written by Cooey outlining their objections to the placement of so many more advance polls on the West Side.

"Geographically, more than a quarter of the city has no Advance Poll," the letter states. "The area comprises five contiguous neighbourhoods on the eastside, and is home to 26% of Vancouver's population: DTES-Chinatown-Strathcona, Grandview-Woodland, Riley Park, Kensington–Cedar Cottage, Renfrew-Collingwood."

In addition, the letter states that Hastings-Sunrise—with a population of 33,992—was not well-served by one of the two East Side polls, which was at the Thunderbird Community Centre. It's four blocks from Boundary Road, which is the eastern edge of Vancouver.

In a written response to Cooey, city clerk and chief election officer Janice MacKenzie pointed out that there was a 280 percent increase in advance-voting hours in the 2014 election from 2011.

She noted that the eight locations were selected more than a year before the election.

"When selecting locations for municipal voting, officials require sufficient space to accommodate about 1,000 voters for each site on each day of advance voting, and between 1,200 and 1,500 voters on general voting day," MacKenzie wrote. "The location requires extensive electrical outlets and back-up power to maintain connectivity for all of the equipment due to the electronic needs of the voting tabulators, accessible voting machines, the electronic voters list and other requirements. Fully secure internet is a key requirement."

With regard to the Downtown Eastside, she stated that city staff visited 46 agencies and businesses and distributed election materials about voting times, locations, how to register, and how to apply to vote by mail.

"The Roundhouse Community Centre is the closest advance voting location to the Downtown Eastside and is about 2.5 kilometres from the community," MacKenzie added.

Cooey, however, has a problem with the city clerk, who's appointed by the Vision-controlled council, serving as the chief electoral officer. "Her decisions can help or hinder her employers' election, creating a conflict of interest for mayor and council," he claimed.

Under provincial legislation, councils appoint the chief electoral officer but Elections B.C. oversees the financing of candidates and political parties.

Meanwhile, former Vision Vancouver school trustee Ken Clement lost to NPA school board chair Christopher Richardson by 255 votes. This resulted in Vision losing control of the nine-member board, which includes three other NPA trustees and one Green trustee.

Clement, the only aboriginal person ever elected to municipal office in Vancouver, told the Straight by phone that he initially considered challenging the results. However, he chose not to do this because didn't want to come across as a "sore loser".

"I am still concerned that there are voters who were disenfranchised," Clement said.

Clement added that he knows people didn't bother to vote because of the lack of advance polls in large areas of East Vancouver, where he has many supporters. Now, he worries that some East Side schools may be "on the chopping block" because Vision lost its majority.

He said that he's "surprised" that Vision didn't take a "more proactive role" after the election.

The 11th-place finisher in the race for 10 spots on council, the NPA's Ian Robertson, told the Vancouver Courier that he feels there were "irregularities", but the election is over and he's since moved on. Robertson lost to Vision candidate Geoff Meggs by 512 votes.

When people have challenged election results in the past, they've sometimes based arguments on Section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It guarantees the right to vote in federal and provincial elections.

However, Section 3 does not mention "municipal" elections. According to Victoria lawyer John Waddell, who represents Elections B.C., the combined effect of Section 3 and Section 32 of the Constitution Act, 1982 does not offer any constitutional guarantee to vote in municipal elections.

Section 32 outlines the basis upon which the charter's rights can be enforced.

Therefore, Vancouver voters likely can't base any challenge of the 2014 election results on the charter's guarantee of their democratic rights.